FSU Henry Nowak Statement

Max Thompson, Campaigns Officer

2 June 2026

What happened to Henry Nowak is the most tragic example of what happens when the police get their priorities wrong.

Henry was an 18-year-old student on a night out in Southampton. He was stabbed with a 21cm ceremonial knife by a Sikh man.

As he lay bleeding to death on a gravel driveway, police officers arrived and handcuffed him.

They chose to focus on an allegation that Henry had used a racial slur, rather than the fact that he had been stabbed.

When Henry told officers he could not breathe and that he had been stabbed, one replied: "I don't think you have, mate."

Instead of trying to save his life, they arrested him. Hampshire Police were more interested in an accusation of racism.

The last thing Henry heard was his rights being read to him as he was arrested.

The Free Speech Union has warned for years that the police need to get their priorities straight.

There are serious questions that must be answered by Hampshire Police.

Watch FSU External Affairs Officer Connie Shaw here.